U Thant Quotes & Sayings

The single most important impediment to global institutions is the concept of "my country, right or wrong". — U Thant

Understanding, love and tolerance are the highest forms of interest on out small and interdependent planet. — U Thant

Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace. — U Thant

I am afraid if the present trend in Vietnam continues that direct confrontation, first of all between Washington and Peking, is inevitable. — U Thant

As a Buddhist, I was trained to be tolerant of everything except intolerance. I was brought up not only to develop the spirit of tolerance but also to cherish moral and spiritual qualities such as modesty, humility, compassion, and, most important, to attain a certain degree of emotional equilibrium. — U Thant

To understand my feelings - and my conception of the role of Secretary General - the nature of my religious and cultural background must first be understood. I should therefore like to outline not only my beliefs but also my conception of human institutions and of the human situation itself. — U Thant

The war we have to wage today has only one goal and that is to make the world safe for diversity. — U Thant

World federalists hold before us the vision of a unified mankind living in peace under a just world order ... The heart of their program-a world under law- is realistic and attainable. — U Thant

As we watch the sun go down, evening after evening, through the smog across the poisoned waters of our native earth, we must ask ourselves seriously whether we really wish some future universal historian on another planet to say about us: "With all their genius and with all their skill, they ran out of foresight and air and food and water and ideas," or, They went on playing politics until their world collapsed around them. — U Thant

I don't like to be disturbed at home; I tell the cable office not to call me before 6:30 AM, unless there's a war. — U Thant

In modern war there is no such thing as victor and vanquished ... There is only a loser, and the loser is mankind. — U Thant

Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves. — U Thant

The world will not Change and find peace if there is not a new education. — U Thant

The concept of peaceful coexistence has been criticized by many who do not see the need to make the world safe for diversity. I wonder if they have ever paused to ask themselves the question: What is the alternative to coexistence? — U Thant

Governments, systems, ideologies come and go, but it is humanity which remains. — U Thant